Sunday, February 21, 1999

Gardens Party: Arena Turns 50

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Museum opens today to celebrate half century of sports and entertainment

BY JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A distinctive feature of Cincinnati Gardens is the carved athletic figures - three on each side of the front entrances. (Jeff Swinger photos) | ZOOM |

        The Cincinnati Gardens is turning 50. A memorabilia museum at the Garden will be unveiled to the public today, celebrating a half century of sports and entertainment.

        The Gardens has been home to the NBA's Cincinnati Royals, four minor-league hockey teams, a minor-league basketball team, both of the city's Division I basketball programs ... and had its rafters rattled by Elvis, the Beatles and Madonna.

The first event in the Gardens was a minor-league hockey game on Feb. 22, 1949. | ZOOM |

        Fifty years ago, the $3 million Gardens was the seventh-largest indoor arena in the country (11,000 for basketball and hockey). It boasted no interior pillars or columns obstructing sight lines.

        That first week, there was hockey on Tuesday ...

        “Despite the huge turnout (11,144) — the largest ever to witness an indoor event in Cincinnati — it took less than five minutes to clear the Gardens,” marveled Enquirer sportswriter Bill Ford.

        Basketball on Wednesday and Thursday ...

The Gardens was home to Oscar Robertson and the NBA Cincinnati Royals. | ZOOM |

        There were 7,000 fans for the University of Cincinnati vs. Butler game, and another big crowd for the Xavier vs. Kentucky game.

        And boxing on Monday ...

        There were 14,062 fans for a prize fight between Cincinnatian Ezzard Charles and Clevelander Joey Maxim that set Charles up to win the heavyweight crown. It was a Gardens record that would last for 15 years.

(Read about the Charles-Maxin fight: The Night The Gardens Took Root)

        Here are some facts about Cincinnati's first big-time indoor arena.

The Beatles played the Gardens on Aug. 27, 1964. A reserved seat was $2.75. | ZOOM |

        How big it is: 25,000 square feet.

        How long it took to build: 325,000 man hours.

        What it was modeled after: Maple Leaf Garden, in Toronto.

        What it's made of: 2,200 tons of structural and reinforcing steel; 7,300 cubic feet of concrete; 470,000 face brick, 295,000 cinder blocks, 26,000 glazed tiles, 776 glass blocks.

        Its most distinctive external element: Six, three-dimensional carved athletic figures.

        Estimated 50-year turnstile count: 65 million people.

Roller derby | ZOOM |

        All-time record crowd: 16,025 at a political rally for Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater on Sept. 29, 1964.

        Sports teams: Pro hockey — Mohawks, Swords, Cyclones, Mighty Ducks; Pro basketball — NBA's Cincinnati Royals, Cincinnati Slammers (minor-league); College basketball — Xavier and Cincinnati.

        Pro wrestlers who tangled there: Gorgeous George, Bobo Brazil, The Sheik, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

        Entertainers who performed there: Elvis, the Beatles, Madonna, Michael Jackson (when he was in the Jackson Five), Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Zappa, Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Eric Clapton, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Lawrence Welk and Waylon Jennings.

Packed for pro wrestling | ZOOM |

        He couldn't sing, but: Evel Knievel performed death-defying motorcycle jumps at the Garden.

        He couldn't sing, but he could jungle-yodel: Olympic swimmer and Tarzan movie star Buster Crabbe starred in an indoor “Aqua Parade.”

        He could sing, but he didn't while he was there: Country music star Garth Brooks showed up once ... to go ice-skating.

        First Garden president: U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Charles P. Sawyer.

        Present owner: Real estate developer Jerry Robinson, who purchased the building in 1979.

The Night The Gardens Took Root

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